FLCL: Where “Comprehension Should Not Be an Important Factor”
The Visionary Deconstruction of Anime Norms and its Impact Across Generations
FLCL, or "Fooly Cooly," stands as a unique monument in the world of anime. I mean, this show is crazy. I see it as an incredible encapsulation of what adolescence is like. Except with robot fights, an alien, a teenage arsonist, and a town of incompetent adults.
Directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki and produced by the FLCL Production Committee, which included Gainax, Production I.G, and Starchild Records (what a team), the series first aired in 2000. It sought to defy expectations and push boundaries, embodying Tsurumaki's personal mission to "break the rules" of anime—and boy, did he break them. Check this scene to see what I mean:
To start, unlike traditional anime, Tsurumaki chose a contemporary Japanese band, The Pillows, to provide the soundtrack, enhancing the series with a distinctly modern Japanese flavor. Here’s my favorite song by them, “The Last Dinosaur”:
Tsurumaki further opted to pattern the style more after "a Japanese TV commercial or promotional video,” creating a work that was “short, but dense-packed.”
Localization proved to be a challenge, with Marc Handler, FLCL's localization director and script writer, admitting that translating the script was the hardest part of the show. FLCL is full of in-jokes and obscure Japanese pop culture references that had to be decoded and transferred to English audiences. One instance involved substituting a reference to Cheerio, a discontinued soft drink in Japan, with Crystal Pepsi, a defunct American beverage. These kinds of specific cultural translations were necessary to maintain the integrity of the anime's atmosphere and nuances (although some of them still fall flat, almost like a discontinued soda brand…).
But interestingly, viewer comprehension was not a priority for Tsurumaki. In response to criticism of the series, he made the bold statement that "comprehension should not be an important factor in FLCL.” Which is insane to me, but is somehow also right in line with the overall feel of the 6-episode show. Instead of a straightforward, always-comprehensible story, the anime focuses on evoking emotions, pushing boundaries, and introducing fresh perspectives through sometimes metaphorical, sometimes in-your-face means—exemplified by the symbolic Medical Mechanica building (shaped like a giant freaking iron). This iconic structure represents the “ironing out of thoughts,” a metaphorical expression of smoothing out brain wrinkles and making people dumber in the process as part of Medical Mechanica’s evil goal: the destruction of all thought.
FLCL's pioneering approach to both story and animation had significant impacts, influencing even acclaimed productions like Avatar: The Last Airbender. The series' director, Giancarlo Volpe, claimed that his staff was "all ordered to buy FLCL and watch every single episode of it." Chainsaw Man creator Tatsuki Fujimoto has also expressed his admiration for the work, describing his own show as a "wicked version of FLCL.”
Director Tsurumaki oversaw the English dub to ensure that the voice actors from the English dub captured the same "essence" as their Japanese counterparts. He was particularly pleased with voice actress Kari Wahlgren's portrayal of Haruko (below).
And even among all of these fascinating tidbits and factoids behind the show’s creation, the wildest fact of all is that they somehow condensed the whole thing into just six episodes. For context, imagine if all the ridiculousness of a 24-episode show like Nichijou was crammed into just six parts—and it still maintained all its character and hilarity. For me, that brevity only accentuates FLCL’s uniqueness and makes it that much more of an achievement.
Through its innovative narrative, FLCL will always stand as a testament to the boundless potential of anime storytelling. It will forever stand as one of my 10/10s, and I will defend that until the end!
- Blake Steen